Sikh Youth in Toronto: Identity issues and Gangs

Sikh Youth in Toronto: Identity issues and Gangs

Introduction.

Immigrants face a lot of challenges as they try to figure out the new world. Even in countries that are known to be relatively friendly to the diverse population, the newcomers still find it hard to fit in. The new environment offers a lot that is different from what the immigrant knows, which causes social, physical, psychological conflict affecting the culture and identity of such people. An example of such groups is the Indo-Canadian Group of people living in Toronto, Canada.

Sikh communicated migrated into North America at the turn of the 20th century. The Sikh community found a home in Canada and settled in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta. Now the Sikh community can be located throughout Canada. The Sikh group has been growing at a slow pace in Canada because the first group was made of men. However, immigration has led to the growth of this group in the recent past.  The Sikh community in Canada is said to be about half a million, which is about 1.4% of Canada’s population.

Thesis statement

Sikh community living in Ontario province have a large population living in Toronto. After moving to Canada, the Punjabis stuck to their values and traditions. However, the second generation of Punjabis in Toronto Canada has been said to be struggling with identity as many of them engage in crime and little of their own culture and values. The focus of the paper is to find why the Sikh-Punjabis youth population living in Toronto has had challenges fitting in and thus resulting in gang crime.

(For the purpose of understanding the name, Punjabis will be used alternatively with Sikh. Sikhism is a religion of the Punjabis. )

Changing the population of Canada and Toronto.

Most cities in Canada, such as Toronto, are now experiencing rapid migration rates that causing a quick change in the diversity of the population living in these cities. The immigration of minority groups has increased the number of people living in Canada. The Urban areas in Canada have been the most affected, as many of these groups reside in cities.

In relation to the population change in Canada and Toronto, there is an impact on religion. Christianity is the mainstream religion in Canada, with Catholicism and Protestantism being the main sub-religion of Christianity. However, there has been an increase in new religions since 2000. According to the Canadian immigration statistics of 2001, there is evidence that there was a significant increase in the number of people aligned to Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism as a result of population growth in 2001. The same statistics indicated that the population identifying with Sikh religion had grown from 14700 in 1991 to al278 500, which was an increase of about 89%.

Reasons Why Sheikh Youth Are Struggling To Fit In

Stigmatization

Minority groups in Canada are subjected to stigmatization for not belonging to any specific culture. The Sikhs living in Canada are stigmatized because they do not belong to Sikh-Punjabi nor the mainstream  Canadian culture. The current youth generation of Sikhs in Canada is more diverse ethnically and culturally because of immigration into Canada.  Consequently, the Sikh youth population exists in a world where they are discriminated against because of their cultural and ethnic background.

Struggling to fit in two worlds

The Sikh youth living in Toronto are faced with Confusion and uncertainty between Canadian mainstream culture and Sikh culture. Little literature that tells about how the Sikh youth have managed to balance between the Canadian culture and Sikh-Punjabis culture.  Sikhs living in the Westen world are forced to adapt the western culture while accommodating assimilating and acculturing the values and traditions of their culture. Although culture is said to be fluid, Sikhs living in North America  have adapted multicultural characteristics and identities

Indo-Canadian Youth is struggling to find their identity because of the struggle that exists when trying to fit in the two world. Most young people of Indian origin living in Toronto say that they live in two different worlds. In schools, the Sikh youth are taught the Western culture as the Canadian education system has failed to incorporate Sikh culture in the curriculum. When the same young people go home, they are expected to be religious and observe Sikhism or the traditions of the Punjabis culture.

The Canadian educational system has failed to legitimize and incorporate the Punjabi language in Indo-Canadian schools. School-going generation of Sikhs is, however, allowed to engage in Punjabi in the margins of before or after the regular school day. Thus, Punjabis are now fluent in the dominant language in Toronto and less in their traditional Punjabi language, creating a distance in the first and the second Sikhs generations.

The values taught in Canadian schools differ from those of the Punjabi and Sikh culture taught at home. Indo-Canadain youth have a profound responsibility to their parents, and all family obligations are valued. However, the individualistic concern of the young people are only regarded as Canadian and are looked down upon.

The trying to fit in the two cultures has left the youth generation of the Punjabis in Toronto confused and not knowing where to fit in. Failure to fit in any of the worlds, the Sikh youth is forced to venture into activities such as music and art or gang activities.  The young generation wants to live in a sphere where they can be themselves and not forced to conform to any culture or judged.

Lack of social support for Sheikh youth

Youth if Punjabi-Sikh descent lacks the necessary social support from the government to enable them to negate the social and economic challenges that they face. Sikh Youth group lacks social assistance because of the discrimination and racism that exist in Canada. Lack of essential social services means that the Sikh population is disadvantaged. In comparison to the Canadian born youth, immigrant youth are likely to have less social support and are expected to engage in religious organizations affiliated with their faith.

Institutional barriers/ Institutional racism

The young generation of Punjabis living in Canada continues to face institutional barriers making it difficult for these groups of people to feel left out. For example, institutionalized racism and white privilege that gives the Canadian white youth an upper hand compared to other immigrant groups.

While racism in Canada today is not as evident as it was three decades ago, it exists in a hidden way. Hidden racism is as dangerous to individuals and groups, just like overt racism. In Canada, racism has been institutionalized, meaning that it is hidden in policies and practices that used to maintain the status quo. The racism is manifested in social practices which are as a result of imperial and colonial traditions. For example, in Canada, all other forms of religion other than Christianity are deemed deviant, which is a way of stigmatization that is associated with non-Euro-centric Values.

Institutionalized racism is deep-rooted into the systems giving the white people in Canada privilege over other races.  Institutionalized racism is a problem to the Punjabis young generation living in Canada as they are required to put extra- effort into everything that they do so that they can accomplish more compared to the white counterparts. In Canada, non-white skin is considered a mainstream defiant, which is a legitimate way of showing discriminatory and racist behaviors.

Structural barriers

Cultural racism has been identified as the key structural barrier to the Sikh youth living in Toronto. Inequalities deep-rooted in the society operate in a way that they justify the allocation of racial groups to a specific class site and categories. The ideas of superiority and inferiority are based on the social characteristics visible in society. The idea of a superior and inferior race also exists in the values and norms which lead to the exclusion of the minority groups from accessing specific resources. (James p.135).

These cultural barriers have an impact on how the Sikh youth in Toronto view themselves as members of the minority. The youth who are in learning institutions and those in job-searching in Toronto have already experienced perceived norms of discrimination. These barriers have an impact on these young people because it reminds them of who they are and where they come from. The parents from these youths keep on telling them about their disadvantages and how it impacts their life as minorities.

Parenting strategies are resulting in cultural conflict.

The Indo-Canadian people living in Canada have tried to maintain their cultural traditions and value as emotional security because of the isolation and discrimination they experienced in the past. Punjabis youth living in Canada are likely to experience cultural conflict because of the differences in what they are taught in school and what their parents teach them.

Research indicates that parents of Sikh religion are likely to stay away from their children than educate them on sex education. Cultural conflict is expected to occur when children accept the Canadian culture that they challenge the traditional beliefs of their parents. According to Sikh living in Canada, education is a necessary evil, because of biasness in the curriculum as it only promotes the white socialization experience that creates dissonance between the Sikh-Punjabi culture and the Canadian culture (Bariana, 1997 p. 216). Western culture trains the kids to be rational, critical, and to answer different questions that the traditions and the value of the Punjabis do not provide answers.

Parents of Punjabi-Sikh background have confirmed that the disagreements of the cultures result in an unhealthy relationship between them and their kids. When teenagers from Punjabi culture feel that their parents do not understand their life, it forces them to live a double life full of mistrust. The problem of mistrust in Punjabi families exists when the young population reaches puberty, and most of them are trying to find their identity (Sikh religious society, 1994, P312-313).

Parents equate education to economic success and social mobility but fail to identify it as the value and the western culture as the dominant culture. Parents have different standards on education; on one side, it is good because it gives the young generation the knowledge to survive in Canada. At the same time, they do not accept the values that the same education teach to their children. Thus it creates conflict between the parents’ beliefs and the western lifestyle leading to confusion in the children.

Hybridity

Because of the interaction with different cultures, the Sikh-Punjabis youth living in Toronto are not pure breeds of any culture; instead, they are hybrids. In modern society, hybridity means all sorts of things that are born out of the combination and mixing of different cultures. Most of Indo-Canadian today identify themselves as hybrids because of the combination of root culture and the culture of their present environment and also the mixing of nationality. Young Punjabis born in Canada can say that they are Canadians with Indian roots (Bariana 224).

Gang Related Activities

Challenges states above, such as racism, the problem of social identity, lack of social support, and other factors, have contributed to an identity crisis that has resulted in these people joining gangs. These gangs have been reported to engage in crime such as drug trafficking and abuse, gang wars, and the use of guns to engage in criminal activities that impact their socio-economic life. The main crime of the Punjabi-Canadian is heroin trafficking. The Punjabis, however, have extended their illegal operations into money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, and contract killing.

Sikh Youth in Toronto has also subscribed to rap music that preaches and shows a lot of violence. Rap music from North American and South East Asia showing musicians with guns has been said to have a significant impact on these young people. By copying what the musicians sing and do in the videos, the youth join gangs and get involved in crime. Rap music is said to have a lot of influence on the Sikh youth population living in Toronto. Although music producers have noted that most of the musicians in the rap music videos are not gangs and some have never even held guns before the making of the video, it is different for the young population living in Canada.

Denial by the Punjabi community. The rejection of the Punjabi-Sikh community in Canada that the young generations are not engaging in such criminal activities has supported the existence of these gangs. Living in denial for the Punjabi society and not understanding some of the changes that occur in the lives of the young population has had an impact on the continuity of gang activities among youth from the Punjabi community.

Why Sikh Youth Join These Groups

Sikh youth living in Toronto, Ontario, engage in gangs because of a sense of belonging. Identity crisis and a result of cultural crisis, has prompted the youth to get into gang operations where they can be accepted. In these groups, these young groups of individuals feel secure and accepted, unlike in the society where they feel like they belong to two different worlds. In these groups, the youths re not restricted to the values and traditions of any culture.

Some of the youth Join these groups to get sympathy and emotional support. Most of the young population that is in crisis has been forced to turn to gang activities in Toronto have emotional challenges. Youth generation joining these groups to acquire support that they cannot access in other places. Gang leaders exploit the emotions of the youth and lure them into the gangs.

Sikh Youth joining the group do it to acquire material goods and resources. The Sikhs living in Toronto who want to acquire material goods are forced into gangs because of the desire for material goods. Such youths are attracted to these groups as there is comfort. Others get into these groups for security matters. Gang members are given some level of security assurance by the gang leaders, which is appealing to most young people in minority immigrants.

Solutions to the Sikh Youth In Toronto

The Canadian authorities have said that if the Sikh-Punjabi community in Toronto have to modernize to help reduce the youth joining gangs. Canadian society has requested the Sikh community living in Canada to learn and accept modernity. That way, the older generation will be able to see how well the Sikh culture can co-exist with the Canadian culture. The approach has been recommended so that Sikh-Punjabi elders can embrace the differences between their culture and western culture. The strategy will help in reducing conflict that exists between the parent and the youth.

Youth from Minority groups can be helped by ensuring the integration of empowering identity development. Canadian community should work in collaboration with the minority immigrant groups to help create initiatives that outline strategies to promote positive self-concept. That way, the young generation will understand their ethnic identity and Canadian identity and how to value both.

Stakeholders in the society should address social injustices such as inequality through promoting equity. The stakeholders in Toronto should address equity at all levels like resource allocation and availability of services, opportunity, and support. Such an approach will bring about success and the wellbeing of the young immigrant population living in Canada.

Undertaking multiple approaches when providing youth services. In response to the complex needs and life experiences of the gang-involved youth from migrant minority groups, the stakeholders should be attentive to the diverse layers of needs to address this complicated matter.

Conclusion

The young generation of Sikh- Punjabi living in Toronto, Ontario, is said to experience an identity crisis that led some to join gangs. Identity crisis for this group of persons is caused by factors such as cultural conflict, parenting, stigmatization, lack of social support,  structural racism, and institutional barriers. The inferiority complex in Sikh youth living in Toronto has increased because of factors such as stigmatization, structural, and institutional racism. The cultural conflict between the Sikh-Punjabi culture and the Canadian culture escalates the identity crisis among the youth of the Sikh community. Lack of social support for young Punjabi generation has reduced their opportunities for this group of individuals. Parents of Punjabi background have strong beliefs on their culture, which creates conflict with their kids who are inclined toward the western world culture.

Among the many consequences  of identity crisis and disadvantage on the Sikh-Punjabi youth in Toronto, the joining of criminal gangs. Youth in cities like Toronto engage in gangs because of a sense of belonging, as a source of protection, to get entertained or status associated with the group, to acquire emotional support,  and to acquire material goods and resources. Identity crisis has created conflict and self-doubt for some of the youth, which has pushed them to join gangs where they are accepted. Some of the young people join the group because of music, and thus they enter the group to get entertained. Some have joined the gangs because of stigmatization, and barriers that they face impacting their socio-economic status. Therefore some join to acquire material goods.

Sikh-Punjabi community in Toronto has been asked to embrace modernization to integrate their culture to that of the Canadian to reduce the culture conflict. Canadian society can help the community through ensuring equity, empowering identity development, multiple approaches to youth services and multiple-stakeholder involvement, coordination, and collaboration.

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